Observation: Public

Name:

KD Harris

Observation Date:

December 29, 2021

Submitted:

December 29, 2021

Zone or Region:

West North

Activity:

Skiing/Snowboarding

Location:

Happy Bunny Butte

Did you trigger any avalanches?

Yes

Was it intentional?

No

Avalanche Type:

Soft Slab

Size:

Size 1: Relatively harmless to people

Elevation:

5100'

Aspect:

NW

Comments:

Triggered a small wind slab below ridgetop (roughly 30' wide x 1-2' deep). It was notable because of the low angle and that the skier triggered the slope from 10 feet away. Winds seemed to shift and strengthen through the day; this slope was probably cross-loaded last night then loaded during the day.

Did you see shooting cracks?

Yes, Isolated

Did you experience collapsing or whumpfing?

No

Notable fresh wind slabs on a variety of aspects after Frasier outflow winds increased last night. We skied nice protected, faceted powder on S facing slopes and triggered this small avalanche returning via a N aspect. We also observed widespread surface hoar in wind-sheltered locations. Overall, the snowpack was significantly more wind affected than Tuesday and touchier.